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,No. GILBGO. Patented Oct. 4, I898. B. M. HAYWARD.

ATTAGHMENT FOR SHOES.

(Applic ation filed Nov. 12, 1897.)

(No Model.)

fiqr] WITNESSES IN VEN r09 rm/m5 rs.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT M. HAYWARD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ATTACHMENT FOR SHOES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 611,860, dated October 4, 1898. Application filed November 12, 1897- Serial No. 658,296. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ROBERT M. HAYWARD, of New York, (Brooklyn,) in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Attachment for Shoes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to an attachment for a shoe or boot for straightening the foot and curing corns and bunions.

It is well known that corns, bunions, and the consequent deforming of the feet are caused by badly-shaped shoes or boots,which crowd the big toe over onto the others, causing the large joint to swell, therebyforming what is called a bunion, and at the same time the small toes are so crowded against the side of the shoe as to bring on corns. Myinvention when placed in what is termed the Common-sense shoe forces the big toe back into its proper place and relieves the pressure which causes corns and bunions.

I will describe a shoe or boot attachment embodying my invention and then point out the novel features in the appended claim.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoe with a portion broken away to show my invention as applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan viewof a shoe with a portion of the sole broken away to show the attachment. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of a portion of a shoe and showing the attachment in elevation, and Fig. 4 shows a modification.

The invention comprises a strip of yielding material 1such, for instance, as felt or canvas. This strip of material is arrangedwithin the shoe at the side occupied by the big toe of a person, and the strip extends from, the toe portion of the shoe rearward. When the device is placed in the shoe at the time of making the shoe, its inner end may be secured by means of a tack or nail 2, extended through the strip and into the sole 3 of the shoe. Should it be placed in a ready-made shoe, however, its inner end may be fastened by means of a screw or nail 4, extended through the sole from the bottom and into the strip, as indicated in Fig. 4. The opposite end of the strip 1 may be secured to the upper of the shoe in any desired manner. I have here shown a strap 5 attached to the upper of the shoe and engaging with a buckle 6 on the strip'l.

As indicated in the drawings, the strip 1 will be so placed as not to engage its body portion with the upper of the shoe. Therefore it will have considerable resiliency when en gaging between the big toe and the one next to it. The lower edge of the strip, it will be observed, is curved upward to pass over the foot just rearward of the big toe, and thence it extends along the side of the foot.

The device will relieve the pressure of the big toe against the other toes, and it is found that by relieving this pressure the big toe will in time assume its natural position and corns will 'soon disappear, as will also the bunion. In bad cases it may take from three to six months to completely cure the bunions.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent The combination with a shoe or boot, of a strip of yielding material arranged within the shoe or boot, at the side occupied by the big toe of the wearer, the said strip being fastened at one end to the sole near the toe of the shoe or boot, and secured at the other end to the upper, substantially as specified.

ROBERT M. HAYWARD.

Witnesses:

JNo. M. BITTER, F. W. HANAFORD. 

